Overview

• Zackery Brandon Barfield pleaded guilty in February to three counts of poisoning and shooting bottlenose dolphins during charter trips in 2022 and 2023.
• He received a 30-day prison term, must pay a $51,000 fine and will serve one year of supervised release after his jail sentence.
• Federal prosecutors say Barfield fed an estimated 24–70 dolphins methomyl-laced baitfish and used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot at least five, killing one.
• One shooting occurred during a charter trip with elementary school-aged children onboard, prompting sharp criticism from the Justice Department.
• A tip to NOAA’s fisheries division in 2023 launched the investigation that led to his guilty plea under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and related federal pesticide laws.